Daichi Kobayashi
"You are forever my dearest best friend. For that reason, I will forget about that room. Let's live by laughing and forgetting it, even if you cannot forget it. If you want to remember, let's just lock it up with a key. Let it sit somewhere in my heart that you were my best friend at any time in that place." Daichi Kobayashi is the protagonist of Room No.9. He is a college student at a public university studying to become an elementary school teacher. He is Seiji Azumi's best friend. Biography Daichi is an orphan and has no known relatives. His parents disappeared during his first summer vacation in junior high. He is in his senior year of college at a public university on a scholarship. He wants to become an elementary school teacher; he'll find out if he passed the test in October. He supports himself with a part-time job. He identifies as heterosexual and is sexually uninhibited, with a history girlfriends and sexual partners. He is monogamous in relationships and has never cheated. Though Daichi has never had a long-lasting relationship, he would like to get married and have kids someday. Personality “I can survive minus an arm after all. You know that, right?” Daichi is a cheerful, carefree young man who wears his heart on his sleeve. He loves to joke around and have fun. He falls in love easily, though he tends to have poor taste in partners, and often ends up devastated by break-ups. Though known for his carefree nature, Daichi can be serious and step up to the plate when he needs to. This is shown through his persistence in college, as well as his determination to complete tasks to escape Room No.9. He can be selfless as well, volunteering himself for the tasks so Seiji wouldn't have to suffer. Ultimately, physical limitations prevent him from fulfilling this wish. Daichi is an expressive person. After realizing the weight of the situation they are in, Daichi tears up and expresses a wide range of emotions, from anger to fear to hopelessness and guilt. He blames himself for them ending up in Room No.9, since it was his idea to visit Okinawa together instead of wasting his plane tickets post-breakup. Although Seiji doesn't believe Daichi is at fault, this guilt is exacerbated by his role in sexually degrading Seiji during tasks. He considers his looks and personality to be average or worse, especially in comparison to Seiji. Despite this, he has had a considerable amount of girlfriends and sexual encounters, so his perception of himself may be a result of low self-esteem. Relationships Seiji Azumi "You are forever my dearest best friend." Daichi and Seiji first became friends when they were in junior high. Their friendship has remained strong over the years, to the point where they consider each other their dearest best friend (though they would never say that aloud). Daichi sometimes even jokes that Seiji and he should get married. Daichi is openly affectionate toward Seiji, as shown when Daichi greets Seiji at the train station with a hug. He doesn't understand why anyone would break up with Seiji, as he has good looks and personality, a wealthy family, and a promising future career. He describes Seiji as being "the perfect guy," and completely different from him. He often refers to Seiji as handsome, specifically using the term "ikemen." When they are kidnapped and forced to participate in the experiment, Daichi and Seiji become victims of rape-by-proxy, a type of rape in which two people are coerced into having sex by a third party. While Daichi despises whoever forced them into this situation, he is ashamed and disgusted with himself for hurting Seiji, ultimately blaming himself. He has a hard time seeing himself as a victim when he has to hurt Seiji, and considers the physical harm he endures to be less damaging. Daichi is clearly conflicted with developing an arousal response to Seiji during tasks, as well as Seiji's growing sexual responsiveness to him. In Bad Endings B and C, Daichi explicitly blames himself for "making Seiji this way," i.e. developing or awakening same-sex attraction, and he accepts his responsibility by accepting Seiji's advances. In the True End (Ending F), he considers it his responsibility to help Seiji through the effects of the aphrodisiac, though he fears he may just by justifying his own desires. They willingly have sex together -- the first time without a task forcing them to, a fact that deeply distresses him afterward. Daichi tends to rely on Seiji for emotional support, as shown in the bar scene when he complains about his latest break-up. This tendency is also pervasive throughout the experiment. During the blood-drawing task, Daichi describes Seiji as "dependable" and notes that "If Seiji is here, I'll be just fine." After escaping Room No.9 in the True End, Daichi seeks comfort from Seiji by reaching for his hand on the train ride home, on the verge of tears. Without a word, Seiji grasps his hand and they both are soothed by the action. It is implied that Daichi is more naive than Seiji in how they'll recover from this traumatic experience. Daichi believes they will be okay once they return home, resuming normal life by forgetting about that room. He hopes that they can return their friendship to how it was before. When they finally part and Daichi says, "See you," a shadow passes over Seiji's face before he replies, "Yeah, see you." Mika Hideya Daichi's latest ex-girlfriend. It was her idea to visit Okinawa, and she convinced Daichi to work hard and save up money for the trip. Just before summer vacation, she messaged Daichi telling him they were breaking up since she found a new guy to like. She was often mad at Daichi if he went out with friends because he wouldn't read her RHINE messages (a play on the LINE messenger app) as soon as she'd like. She was also angry if he talked to other girls. Their relationship lasted two months. Shikiyama A girlfriend Daichi had back in high school. In one week, they started dating, had sex, and broke up. Shikiyama was the one who asked him out. Daichi wonders if she was only after his virginity "like everyone else said." Notes Coming soon. * CG variations during Seiji's tasks will feature bandages on Daichi's arm depending on whether or not the player has completed Daichi's second task at that time. Category:Characters